What is cold smoking?

Mike, morning.... below is a fairly good description... Dave

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/meat-smoking/cold-smoking

That's a really good article on traditional cold smoking. It's NOT a how to, however. There are a few vital steps left out. Most backyard smokers (like the majority of us on here) don't have the time, equipment or know how to safely cold smoke for days or weeks at a time. Things like salmon, cheese and some sausages can be successfully cold smoked within a day (sometimes more) using little more than your existing grill or smoker and something to generate "cold" smoke. The Amaze-n-smokers are popular choices for cold smoke generators as they produce a lot of smoke with very little heat. They're also not expensive.

Please do your research before you start cold smoking meats though. There are some pretty specific things you'll need to know about cures, temperatures and times that if monkeyed around with can lead to some pretty nasty consequences. Cheese is a good place to start since it's pretty stable and relatively easy to keep safe. Smoked cheese is also DELICIOUS.  While it's smoking you can read up on how to safely cure meat.

Really a good cold smoker produces a lot of heat...just keeps the heat away from the food to be cold smoked.

A small hot fire produces the best quality smoke. 

Mdboatbum is correct..... It is not a complete how-to in the fact "the curing part" of the meat is missing..... It is one description on "how to apply" smoke.......
Applying cure is a lot more than a one paragraph tutorial... The curing part is fairly involved..... different meats, different grinds and different processes all take a fair amount of study.....